254. Manias

See also 150. FADS ;224. INSANITY ; 311. -PHILE, -PHILIA, -PHILY ;313. PHOBIAS .

N.B.:

Noun forms end in -mania and adjective forms end in -maniac or -maniacal.

acromania

a violent form of mania; incurable insanity.

agoramania

a mania for open spaces.

agyiomania

a mania for streets.

ailuromania

an abnormal love of cats.

alcoholomania

an obsession with alcohol.

amaxomania

a mania for being in vehicles.

amenomania

a mania for pleasing delusions.

Americamania

an obsession with America and things American.

andromania

an obsession with men; nymphomania.

aphrodisiomania

a mania for sexual pleasure.

apimania

an abnormal love of bees.

automania

an excessive liking for solitude.

autophonomania

an obsession with suicide.

ballistomania

an extreme interest in bullets.

bibliomania

an excessive fondness for acquiring and possessing books.

cheromania

an extreme love for gaiety.

Chinamania

an obsession with China and things Chinese.

chionomania

a mania for snow.

choreomania

a mania for dancing.

chrematomania

a mania for money.

clinomania

an obsession with bed rest.

coprolalomania

a mania for foul speech.

cremnomania

an abnormal interest in cliffs.

cresomania

a mania for great wealth.

cynomania

an abnormal love of dogs.

Dantomania

an obsession with Dante and his works.

demomania

ochlomania.

doramania

a mania for fur.

drapetomania

a mania for running away.

dromomania

a mania for travel.

ecdemiomania

a mania for wandering.

edeomania

an obsession with genitals.

empleomania

an obsession with public employment.

enomania

a mania for wine. Also called oinomania.

entheomania

a mania for religion.

entomomania

an abnormal love of insects.

eremiomania

a mania for stillness.

ergasiomania

a mania for activity.

ergomania

a mania for work.

eroticomania

an abnormal interest in erotica.

erotographomania

an abnormal interest in erotic literature.

erotomania

an excessive propensity for sexual desire.

erythromania

a mania for blushing.

etheromania

a mania for ether.

florimania

a mania for plants and flowers.

Francomania

an obsession with France and things French.

gamomania

1. Obsolete, a form of mania characterized by strange and extravagant proposals of marriage.

2. an excessive longing for the married state.

gephyromania

a mania for crossing bridges.

Germanomania

an obsession with Germany and things German. Also called Teutonomania .

graphomania

an obsession with writing.

Grecomania

an obsession with Ancient Greece and Greeks.

gymnomania

a mania for nakedness.

gynecomania

abnormal sexual desire for women.

hamartomania

an obsession with sin.

hedonomania

a mania for pleasure.

heliomania

an abnormal love of the sun.

hieromania

a mania for priests.

hippomania

a mania for horses.

hodomania

an abnormal love of travel.

homicidomania

a mania for murder.

hydrodipsomania

an abnormal love of drinking water.

hydromania

an excessive love of water.

hylomania

a mania for wood.

hypermania

an acute mania.

hypnomania

a mania for sleep.

hypomania

a mild mania; submania.

hysteromania

nymphomania.

ichthyomania

an abnormal love of fish.

iconomania

a mania for icons.

idolomania

a mania for idols.

Italomania

an obsession with Italy and things Italian.

kainomania

a mania for novelty.

kathisomania

a mania for sitting.

kinesomania

a mania for movement.

lalomania

an abnormal love of speech or talking.

lethomania

a mania for narcotics.

logomania

a mania for words or talking.

lycomania

lycanthropy, a form of insanity in which a person imagines himself to be a wolf.

lypemania

an abnormal tendency toward deep melancholy.

macromania

a mania for becoming larger.

mania

1. a type of manie-depressive psychosis, exemplified by rapidly chang-ing ideas, extremes of emotion, and physical overactivity.

2. any violent or abnormal behavior. —maniac , n. —maniacal , adj.

mentulomania

an obsession with the penis.

mesmeromania

an obsession with hypnosis.

micromania

a mania for becoming smaller.

monomania

1. a partial insanity in which psychotic thinking is confined to one subject or group of subjects.

2. an excessive interest in or enthusiasm for a single thing, idea, or the like; obsession.

musicomania

a mania for music.

musomania

an abnormal love for mice.

necromania

an obsession with death or the dead. Cf. thanatomania.

noctimania

an abnormal love of the night.

nosomania

an obsession with imagined disease. See also hypochondriacism .

nudomania

a mania for nudity.

nymphomania

in a woman, a mania for frequent, continued sexual inter-course. Also called oestromania. Cf. satyromania .

ochlomania

a mania for crowds. Also called demomania .

oestromania

nymphomania.

oikomania

an abnormal attachment to home.

oinomania

a mania for wine. Also called enomania .

oligomania

a mania conflned to several subjects. Cf. monomania, def. 1.

oniomania

an excessive desire to buy articles of all kinds.

ophidiomania

an abnormal love of reptiles.

opsomania

a mania for special kinds of food. Cf. phagomania, sitomania .

orchidomania

an obsession with testicles.

ornithomania

an abnormal love of birds.

paramania

an abnormal pleasure in complaints.

parousiamania

an abnormal anticipation of the second coming of Christ.

pathomania

moral insanity.

phagomania

a mania for food and eating. Cf. opsomania, sitomania .

phaneromania

a mania for picking at growths.

pharmacomania

a mania for medicines.

philopatridomania

homesickness.

phonomania

an abnormal love of noise.

photomania

an abnormal love of light.

phronemomania

a mania for thinking.

phthisiomania

an abnormal interest in tuberculosis.

politicomania

a mania for politics.

pornographomania

an abnormal interest in pornography.

potomania

1. an excessive tendency to drink alcoholic beverages.

2. delirium tremens. Also called tromomania .

Russomania

an obsession with Russia and things Russian.

satyromania

in a man, a mania for frequent, continued sexual intercourse. Cf. nymphomania .

scribomania

a mania for writing.

sideromania

an obsession with railroad travel.

sitomania

an obsession with food. Cf. phagomania, opsomania .

sophomania

an excessive respect for one’s own wisdom.

squandermania

a mania for spending money.

submania

a mild mania; hypomania.

symmetromania

a mania for symmetry.

Teutonomania

Germanomania.

thalassomania

an abnormal love of the sea.

thanatomania

an obsession with death. Cf. necromania .

theatromania

a mania for the theater.

timbromania

a mania for postage stamps.

tomomania

an obsession with surgery.

trichomania

an obsession with hair.

trichorrhexomania

a mania for pinching off one’s hair.

tristimania

melancholy.

tromomania

delirium tremens. Also called potomania .

Turkomania

an obsession with Turkey and things Turkish.

typomania

an obsession with the expectation of publication.

xenomania

a mania for foreigners.

zoomania

an abnormal love of animals.

Manias

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines mania as a period of unusually elated or irritable mood that is accompanied by at least three other symptoms (APA 2000). The symptoms of mania can include physical restlessness or overly active behavior; rapid speech or unusual talkativeness; racing thoughts; markedly diminished need for sleep (e.g., feeling rested after only a couple hours of sleep); inflated self-esteem; difficulty focusing attention; and excessive involvement in pleasurable activities without regard to undesirable consequences, such as reckless spending, sexual behavior, or driving. A manic episode is diagnosed if symptoms last for at least one week or lead to hospitalization, and if the symptoms are extreme enough to cause either distress or interference with social or occupational functioning. A person in a manic episode may feel invincible and enthusiastic, but family and friends may perceive manic activity as alarming.

The APA defines several other types of related episodes as well. Hypomania is milder than mania; it is diagnosed if the above symptoms are present for at least four days and produce noticeable changes in functioning without significant distress or impairment. Mixed episodes meet criteria for a full manic episode, but include concurrent depressive symptoms.

Bipolar disorders are defined based on the types of episodes experienced. Bipolar I disorder includes the presence of at least one lifetime manic or mixed episode. Bipolar II disorder is characterized by at least one lifetime episode of hypomania, along with at least one episode of depressive symptoms. Cyclothymia is defined by milder fluctuations of manic and depressive symptoms, which never meet the severity of full-blown manic or depressive episodes, but which are present at least 50 percent of the time for two years. The term bipolar reflects the fact that most (but not all) people with an episode of mania or hypomania will experience depressive episodes during their lifetime. No biological tests are used to diagnose bipolar disorder. Findings of large studies indicate that approximately 3.9 percent of people will meet diagnostic criteria for bipolar I or II disorders (Kessler et al. 2005), and that approximately 4.2 percent will meet diagnostic criteria for cyclothymia during their lifetime (Regeer et al. 2004).

Researchers have documented above-average rates of bipolar disorder among the world’s most famous artists, authors, and composers (Jamison 1993). Unaffected family members of people with the disorder appear to be more creative than those affected by the disorder (Richards et al. 1988). In addition, family members of those with the disorder appear to have elevated levels of accomplishment in their careers (Johnson 2005).

Despite these intriguing correlates, bipolar disorders remain among the most devastating of psychiatric conditions. Suicide rates among people hospitalized for bipolar I disorder are twelvefold higher than those in the general population (Harris and Barraclough 1997). Most people remain unemployed a year after hospitalization for mania (Keck et al. 1998). As a consequence, bipolar disorders have been projected to become a leading cause of medical disability worldwide (Murray and Lopez 1996).

What causes this disorder? Bipolar disorder is one of the most genetic of psychiatric illnesses. Twin studies comparing rates of disorder in identical and fraternal twins suggest that 60 to 85 percent of the variability in whether or not people will develop bipolar I disorder is explained by genes (McGuffin et al. 2003). About 10 percent of the children of a parent with bipolar I disorder will develop a bipolar disorder. It is likely that a set of genes, rather than a single gene, contributes to cause the disorder.

Although there is no cure for bipolar disorder, medications are considered the best form of treatment. Medications are typically recommended throughout the life course, as people with one episode of mania are at extremely high risk for further episodes. Treatment guidelines recommend lithium as the medication of choice. Lithium has been shown to help prevent relapses, to reduce severity of episodes when they do occur, and to decrease suicidality. Unfortunately, many people find the side effects of lithium difficult to tolerate. Other medications, such as antiseizure and antipsychotic medications, have been licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of mania. These treatments are often supplemented with medications to treat depressive symptoms (although antidepressant medications are not recommended without a mood stabilizer because they can trigger manic symptoms).

Although medicine is the primary approach to treatment, stressors and sleep loss can trigger episodes of bipolar disorder. Given this, as well as the devastating consequences of the disorder, psychosocial treatments can be used to supplement medication. Psychoeducation and family therapy can help prevent hospitalization, and cognitive therapy, focused on changing self-critical thoughts, helps reduce the risk of depression (Miklowitz and Johnson 2006).

SEE ALSO Madness; Psychotropic Drugs; Schizophrenia

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Psychiatric Association. 2000. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM -IV-TR). 4th ed., text rev. Washington, DC: APA.

Harris E. C., and B. Barraclough. 1997. Suicide as an Outcome for Mental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry 170 (3): 205–228.

Jamison, Kay Redfield. 1993. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. New York: Free Press.

Johnson, Sheri L. 2005. Mania and Dysregulation in Goal Pursuit: A Review. Clinical Psychology Review 25 (2): 241–262.

Keck, Paul E., Jr., et al. 1998. 12-Month Outcome of Patients with Bipolar Disorder Following Hospitalization for a Manic or Mixed Episode. American Journal of Psychiatry 155 (5): 646–652.

Kessler, Ronald C., et al. 2005. Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry 62 (6): 593–602.

McGuffin, Peter, et al. 2003. The Heritability of Bipolar Affective Disorder and the Genetic Relationship to Unipolar Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 60 (5): 497–502.

Miklowitz, David J., and Sheri L. Johnson. 2006. The Psychopathology and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. In Annual Review Clinical Psychology. Vol. 2, 1–37. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.

Murray, Christopher J. L., and Alan D. Lopez. 1996. The Global Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Regeer, E. J., et al. 2004. Prevalence of Bipolar Disorder in the General Population: A Reappraisal Study of the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 110 (5): 374–382.

Richards, Ruth, et al. 1988. Creativity in Manic-Depressives, Cyclothymes, Their Normal Relatives, and Control Subjects. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 97 (3): 281–288.

Sheri L. Johnson

Christopher Miller